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I’m writing today about something that so many people overlook when devising a training plan or diet plan, WATER!

I love water and enjoy it immensely, more so than any fizzy pop or alcoholic drink. Specifically, I prefer alkalized water, and I will explain why in a bit.

OVERVIEW

Water is taken for granted by everyone in the UK as it’s so readily available without a second thought. And when it is used, it’s often wasted on consuming drinks disguised as juice and other products high in sugar. However, you may be shocked to learn that most of bottled water is just as bad for you. I don’t have time to discuss this right now, but I will discuss later an experiment showing various drinks that are on sale in the UK and what their PH levels are.

I always advocate water and will show you why in this post, especially as summer is upon us and the weather is getting nicer and hotter. I think it’s important to understand the role beverages plays before, during and after exercise.

A good reliable water requirement calculation is highlighted below and recommend by holistic fitness guru Paul Chek.

For your minimum daily intake, you need to base the calculation on our body weight in kg’s, divided by 0.024. This level of water intake works out at 1 litre plus 1 cup (1250ml) for each 30kg of body weight. Example: An 80kg person would require 3 1/3 litres per day (80kg divided by 0.024).

The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

WATER & EXERCISE

Considering all of the above, it should come as no surprise that a body that is properly hydrated will allow an increase in “cell communication” which will ultimately result in better health and performance. So stay away from the so called energy drinks that claim to help you. They are simply vampires! Are you also aware that blood plasma is made up of around 90% water not 90% energy drinks?

Some of you may be aware of the role plasma plays in the body and some of you may not be. So…

Plasma is made up of water, plasma proteins and cellular nutrients, electrolytes, enzymes, hormones, antibodies, and wastes. It’s primary role is to aid transport of the red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets (thrombocytes) in and around the body at rest or during exercise. So it’s fair to say it’s pretty important.

I’ve already stated that the weather is getting nicer which means more people start to book holidays and set their goal of getting that perfect “beach body.” So they start to train more, outside or inside, and most people will have a little bottle of water to take on a run, bootcamp, or weight training session with them. To be frank, 200ml or 500ml (2 cups) is not enough during an intense 45min-hour session. Furthermore, there’s clear research to show that working at different intensity levels and durations will decrease blood plasma volume.

- 15-20% decrease in 1min bouts of exhaustive exercise.

- 7.7% decrease when training at 40% of 1 rep max.

- 13.9% decrease when training at 70% of 1 rep max.

- Sweating causes additional plasma loss

- Reduced plasma volume will increase blood viscosity, which has been linked to impede blood flow, which limits oxygen transport.

Think of it this way, would you go down a water slide that had little water running down it? What would happen if you did? Very little I would guess. And, the ride wouldn’t be much fun. If the water slide was flowing with water, you would slide at a faster pace and enjoy yourself more.

I’d recommend drinking the following amounts of water for optimal performance benefits as endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine:

Before Exercise
It is recommended that individuals drink about 500ml (2 cups) of fluid about 2 hours before exercise to promote adequate hydration and allow time for excretion of excess ingested water.

During Exercise
Athletes should start drinking early and at regular intervals in an attempt to consume fluids at a rate sufficient to replace all the water lost through sweating (i.e. body weight loss), or consume the maximum amount that can be tolerated.

During exercise lasting less than 1 hour, there is little evidence of physiological or physical performance differences between consuming a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink and plain water.

After Exercise
Drink 600ml of water for every pound of body weight lost through sweat during exercise with a natural recovery aid or suitable protein shake.

Hyponatremia
Although rare, athletes can drink too much water and suffer from hyponatremia (water intoxication). Drinking excessive amounts of water can cause a low concentration of sodium in the blood.

ALKALIZED WATER

Personally, I only drink water that is from a bottle source. Tthere are various brands out there at various prices. My favourite brand is NutriBalance Alkalized Drinking Water because it helps to prevent Acidosis (too much acid in the body fluids) and blood Ph is in a range of 7.35 to 7.45, making it slightly alkaline. Many leading health experts recommend that alkalizing the body is the first step to maintaining health. Dr. Otto Warburg, winner of the 1931 Nobel Prize for his studies in cell respiration, believed that a person’s level of health and vitality has a direct correlation to the levels of oxygen in his or her blood stream. It was Dr. Warburg who noted that alkaline bodies absorb up to 20 times more oxygen than acidic bodies. This is why I used to take alkalising salts with my water twice a day, I have however reduced this since solely drinking alkalized water. Alkalized water, often enriched with calcium and magnesium, has been shown to help combat acidification that leads to diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and liver and kidney diseases.

Magnesium is a key mineral for the body as it is involved in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is a key foundation of many explosive sport movements. Low levels of magnesium have been linked with an increase of blood levels of vitamin c-reactive protein (C-reactive protein, or CRP, is an inflammatory biomarker that predicts cardiovascular disease). Without enough magnesium, our body cells will struggle to generate energy, which for anyone doing exercise is not what we want at all.

For those of you out there who do smaller amounts of exercise and are looking to simply change to a more holistic diet, alkalized water is great for that too. The added benefits of the water being naturally high in alkalizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium will be great for reducing headaches and migraines.

The New York Headache Center have concluded studies showing how magnesium helps stop blood vessels in the brain from constricting as much and while aiding the function of the feel good chemical serotonin. Other worth while mentions show that magnesium can potentially help to regulate blood pressure and could also help ward off conditions like stroke and diabetes.

A final benefit drinking alkalized water is that it will aid in gut absorption, research shows that virtually all nutrients from the diet are absorbed into blood across the mucosa of the small intestine. The intestine will also absorb water which plays a critical role in maintenance of body water and acid-base balance.

There are lots of other health benefits from drinking this type of water. However, remember that ANY KIND of water will replenish the plasma levels before, during, and after training. But, if you want that extra push, I’d recommend alkalized water without a doubt.

So for all you out there training hard as usual or getting ready for the beach body of a lifetime, ensure you have enough water.